ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING
INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
RECOMMENDATIONS FORA HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

UN Human Rights
Office of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights
Regional Office for South-East Asia
6th Floor, Block A, United Nations
Building, Rajdamnern Avenue,
Bangkok 10200, Thailand© 2023 United Nations
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United Nations publication issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Regional Office for South-East Asia.
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Cover
The landscape of Golden Triangle(Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Zentralbild)

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING
INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
RECOMMENDATIONS FORA HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSETABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION

4

History and background

6

Changing profiles

7

II. A COMPLEX CHALLENGE

8

Organised crime

9

Digital platforms

9

Weak governance

10

III. ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 						AS SITES OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
12
Recruitment into the online scams

13

Controlled through deception and violence

14

Exploited for forced criminality

14

IV. A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

16

A.
		
B.
		
C.
		
D.
		
E.
		
F.
		
G.
		

Promoting and protecting human rights

17

Recommendations on promoting and protecting human rights

18

Identification

19

Recommendations on identification

19

Non-Punishment Principle

20

Recommendations on the non-punishment principle

21

Protection and effective remedies

21

Recommendations on protection and effective remedies

22

Adequate legal framework

23

Recommendations on an adequate legal framework

24

Rights-based governance of migration

24

Recommendations on rights-based governance of migration

25

Cooperation and coordination

25

Recommendations on cooperation and coordination

27

V. CONCLUSION

28

I. Introduction(Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Zentralbild)This briefing paper sets out human rights concerns arisingsince early 2021 from online scam operations including
their link to human trafficking in Southeast Asia1 as well
as recommendations drawn from international human rights
standards.
These concerns occur in the context of wide-ranging digital
criminal activity such as romance-investment scams, crypto
fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. 2 At the timeof writing this paper, the situation remains fluid: hundredsof thousands of people from across the region and beyond
have been forcibly engaged in online criminality, States
within the region are trying to identify actions and policies
to address this phenomenon, while criminal actors arereacting by finding ways to change and relocate theiroperations, building new centres across the region andupgrading existing compounds.
At the outset it is important to acknowledge that there are
two sets of victims in this complex phenomenon. People
who have been defrauded through online criminality are
victims of the financial and other crimes committed by thesescam operations. Many have lost their life savings, taken
on debt and suffered shame and stigma for having beenscammed. On the other side, individuals who are coerced
into working in these scam operations and endure inhumane
treatment are victims of serious human rights violations andit is their situation that is the focus of this briefing paper.
People who are forced to take part in online scams are mostoften trafficked persons and migrants in vulnerable situations
who face a range of human rights risks, violations andabuses.3 A human rights-based approach to this complex
situation means not merely addressing organised crime orenforcing border controls, but seeks to place the victims
at the centre of the response, by addressing structural
factors, tackling impunity and providing protection andjustice for victims of trafficking and migrants in situationsof vulnerability. 4 Human trafficking is a recognised
criminal offence under international law and many of thepractices associated with trafficking constitute violations
under international human rights law.5 Violations of humanrights are both a root cause of trafficking and can occur
throughout the trafficking cycle.6
The majority of people trafficked into online scam operations
are men, although women and children are also among thevictims. Most are not citizens of the countries in which thetrafficking occurs, however reports have indicated that atleast in some countries nationals are also being targeted.
People who have been trafficked into online forced
criminality face threats to their right to life, liberty andsecurity of the person. They are subject to torture and cruel,inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary
detention, sexual violence, forced labour and other forms oflabour exploitation as well as a range of other human rights
violations and abuses.
5
INTRODUCTION

This briefing paper is primarily focused on migrants who haveendured trafficking and other human rights violations in thecontext of the scam operations, while acknowledging thatthe concerns and guidance contained here apply equally inmost cases to citizens in this situation.
The information in this briefing paper draws on primaryand secondary research by the UN Human Rights Office,including victim testimony,7 as well as the work of the UN
human rights mechanisms and information from other UN
entities, supplemented by open-source information. Whilenot exhaustive, Section A seeks to draw attention to the many
serious human rights issues that result from this emerging
phenomenon. Section B offers guidance to States and otherstakeholders drawing from human rights standards and offers
targeted recommendations aimed at ensuring responses are
human rights-based. The briefing paper was transmitted to
the relevant States for factual comments prior to publication.

History and background
Online scam operations are rooted in the rise of casinos andonline gambling operations in the Southeast Asian region.
Gambling, particularly online gambling, is officially banned
to varying extents in China, Cambodia, Thailand and Lao
PDR. There have been different efforts since 2016 to close
down such operations in the region, but in many cases theseattempts merely caused them to move their location and toadapt, often increasing the influence of organised criminalgroups. Between 2014 to 2019, for example, the numberof casinos in Cambodia increased by 163 per cent: from 57
in 2014 to 150 in 2019.8 The Philippine offshore gambling
operator (POGO) system was created in 2016 to facilitate
online gaming exclusively for players outside the Philippines,
employing tens of thousands of migrant workers as well as asmaller number of Filipinos. There has been concern about
criminal activities linked to these operations, particularlycases of kidnapping and illegal detention of employees.

Scams aimed at defrauding people also have a long history
in the region; organised criminal groups have been runningscam operations out of Cambodia for over a decade, witha sharp increase seen since 2016. In Myanmar, organised
crime actors have operated in the country for years but thesituation, especially related to trafficking into these scam
operations, is reported to have worsened since the military
coup in February 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated response measures
had a drastic impact on such illicit activities across the region.
Public health measures closed casinos in many countries
and in response, casino operators moved operations to lessregulated territories as well as to the increasingly lucrative
online space. Faced with new operational realities, criminal
gangs increasingly targeted migrant workers, who were
stranded in these countries and were out of work due to borderand business closures, to work in the scam centres. At the sametime, the pandemic response measures saw millions of people
restricted to their homes and spending more time online,
making them ready targets for this online fraud. As countries in
the region opened up from the pandemic response measuresin the course of 2021-22, traffickers continued to exploit theeconomic distress that had resulted from the pandemic and theneeds of many to find alternative livelihoods.
Taking advantage of the lack of decent work opportunities
in many countries, the business shutdowns during the
pandemic, lack of social protection, and in particular, thereduced job opportunities for young graduates, traffickers
were easily able to fraudulently recruit people into criminal
operations under the pretence of offering them real jobs.
Digital platforms greatly expanded the reach of organised
criminal actors engaged in online fraud, enabling them totarget for recruitment people in different countries and fromdifferent language groups. For example, the growth in online
gambling in Viet Nam has created a demand for Vietnamesespeakers to service the market.9 It is important to note thatwhile the online scam industry has considerably increased

Reported movements of victims to Southeast Asia’s scam centres

6

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

since the start of the pandemic, many of Southeast Asia’s
casino towns were already implicated in human rights abusessuch as human trafficking and child sexual exploitation.10
Scamming is a profitable industry worldwide; according
to one report, revenue in 2021 from scamming globallyamounted to USD 7.8 billion worth of stolen cryptocurrency.11
In Southeast Asia reports suggest that scam centres generate
revenue amounting to billions of US dollars.12 The number ofpeople who have fallen victim to online scam trafficking inSoutheast Asia is difficult to estimate because of its clandestinenature and gaps in the official response. Credible sourcesindicate that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar
may be held in situations where they are forced to carry out
online scams, while credible estimates in Cambodia have
similarly indicated at least 100,000 people forcibly involvedin online scams.13
In Cambodia as of July 2023, online scam centres are orwere reportedly operating in Phnom Penh, Kandal, Pursat, Koh
Kong, Bavet, Preah Sihanouk, Oddar Meanchey, Svay Rieng,
including within the Dara Sakor SEZ and Henge Thmorda SEZ.
In Myanmar centres are allegedly located in Shwe Kokko andother locations in Myawaddy on the Thai border including KK
Zone and other compounds along the Moei River, Kokang SelfAdministered Zone in Shan State and the Wa-administered cityof Mong La on the Chinese border among others. In Lao PDR
the industry is said to be centred around the Golden Triangle
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the northwest of the country.
In the Philippines, scam centres are reportedly operating withinsome POGOs and in SEZs such as the Clark Free Port Zone:
the country has over 30 licensed POGOs, with more operatingillegally in the country.14

Changing profiles
Documented trafficking cases in Southeast Asia have usually
involved people who have had limited access to education
and are engaged in low-wage work. However, the profile ofpeople trafficked into these recent online scam operations isdifferent; many of the victims are well-educated, sometimes
coming from professional jobs or with graduate or even post-

graduate degrees, computer-literate and multi-lingual. Victims
have come from across the ASEAN region (from Indonesia,
Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Viet Nam), China (including Hong Kong,
Taiwan), as well as countries in South Asia (Bangladesh,
India, Nepal, Pakistan), East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania), Egypt, Turkey and also Brazil. Men make up
the majority of the victims, although women have also beentargeted and, while most of the victims are adults, reports
indicate the presence of adolescent victims.15
Notwithstanding that all countries in the region have along history of engaging in counter-trafficking responses,16
countries like Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar – in whichthese online scam operations have been documented to be
taking place – have seen their position shift from countriesof origin of trafficked persons to the destination countries
into which people from other countries are trafficked.17
Understanding the consequences of and adapting to thisnew situation has been a challenge. This shift has also takenplace in the context of a region where migration corridors
are multifaceted. Long and porous land borders between the
countries of mainland Southeast Asia have facilitated various
types of mobility, in many cases through irregular channels,
with people on the move often using the services of smugglers
and other intermediaries where regular migration pathways
are found to be expensive and difficult to access. Thailand
is increasingly a transit country for these operations. People
travel into Thailand before being moved by their traffickers
over the border to a neighbouring State, while in othercontexts trafficked persons transit through Thailand as they
are moved from one scam operation to another (for example,
citizens of Viet Nam were first trafficked into Myanmar andfrom there re-trafficked to Cambodia via Thailand).
The visa-free entry of ASEAN nationals within the ASEAN
region has also complicated the practical ability of authorities
in destination countries to identify nationals of other ASEAN
countries as victims of trafficking, with border personnel inthese countries often being unfamiliar with protection screening
in relation to the entry and stay of ASEAN nationals.18
INTRODUCTION

7

II. A complex challenge

REUTERS/Cindy Liu

In the context of forced criminality in Southeast Asia, there
are three particular, intersecting challenges that havecomplicated effective, rights-based responses to trafficking
in persons into online scam operations and related humanrights harms. These are:i)challenges in bringing to justice actors
		
engaged in transnational organised crime;ii)
challenges in protecting human rights in the		digital sphere; andiii) problems in accessing scam operations
		located in weakly regulated jurisdictions.

Organised crime
Trafficking in persons is a difficult crime to identify andprosecute. States may not have the necessary capacity in,or experience with, the types of investigative techniques
required for the investigation and prosecution of allegationsof human rights abuses in the context of organised crime andcross-border operations, in accordance with international
legal standards, especially in this new digital sphere.19 In
many of the affected countries, frontline officials such as
border guards, police officials or labour inspectors often
lack the training and capacity to identify victims of trafficking
among those who are rescued or returned from thesecentres. Additional obstacles include language barriers
and the complexity of cross-border cooperation among law
enforcement and other agencies. Furthermore, the scale ofinvestigative processes required to investigate, prosecuteand convict the whole network may be challenging forcriminal justice actors in some countries.20 Also relevantin this context is the issue of corruption, which reportedly
proliferates and is deeply entrenched in the context of theselucrative online scam operations.

Digital platforms
The prominent role of social media and other digitalplatforms is an inherent – and striking – feature of these
online scam operations. In recent years, Southeast
Asia has seen exponential growth in digital technology,
business and e-commerce, specifically cryptocurrencies
and online gaming as well as increasing digitization and“appification” in the region. The latter can be seen for
example in the increasing use of digital payments and QR
codes that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a high degree of trust in social media platforms
by people in Southeast Asia, but at the same time there islimited regulation protecting the rights of users online andin the digital sphere. 21 The central role of digital platforms
in the region takes place in a context of restricted civic
space, weak institutions and widespread regulation andcriminalisation of online expression and content.22

A COMPLEX CHALLENGE

9

Within this context, major digital platforms have been usedby traffickers to deceive people across Southeast Asia andfurther afield with false job advertisements to recruit theminto scam operations. Digital platforms are then used again
in these operations to defraud people all over the world –including reportedly through a range of platforms and apps
such as Boo, Facebook, Grindr, Hinge, Instagram, Lazada,Line, LinkedIn, Meet Me, Muslima, OkCupid, Omi, Shopee,
Skout, Telegram, TikTok, Tinder, WeChat, WhatsApp, andWink. When directing the targets of scams to platforms
such as Meta Trader, Binance, Coinbase and Trust Wallet
for what is in reality fraudulent cryptocurrency trading,scammers will often cite to their victims the fact that theseapps are available in the major Apple and Google appstores as proof of their legitimacy. Social media apps such
as Telegram have also reportedly been used by traffickers
to sell trafficked persons to other criminal operations.

Weak governance
Many of the centres in which people are forced into online
criminal activity are physically located in jurisdictions where
governance and the rule of law are weak, and authority iscontested.
The military coup, ongoing violence and armed conflicts
in Myanmar, and the resultant breakdown in the rule oflaw, have provided fertile ground for an exponential risein criminal activity. Following the coup, transnationalorganised criminal actors were able to widen their existing
activities within the country by working with factions within
the armed forces and various militia groups. Many of thescam centres in Myanmar are located in weakly regulated– and often porous – border areas which are characterisedby a lack of formal law enforcement structures, oversightand accountability. This is further exacerbated by a numberof conditions commonly associated with situations of conflictin these locations. These include a distorted economy that isheavily reliant on crime, the presence of organised criminalgroups, and a non-existent justice and protection systemthat perpetuates impunity.23
At the same time, many online scam centres in the region
are based in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), establishedby the respective States, which have been characterisedby opaque regulation and the proliferation of multiple illicit
economies, including human trafficking, illegal wildlife trade,and drug production. As of 2019, there were more than
5,300 SEZs across 147 economies around the world, withmany more planned. The definition of a SEZ is determined
individually by each State but broadly speaking, SEZs canbe understood as specific areas of industrial development
designated by the State that benefit from fiscal, tax andregulatory regimes and infrastructure support to encourage
investment. To achieve these goals, SEZs operate under
specific legal regimes that are designed to attract foreign10

investment. Three quarters of the world’s SEZs are in Asia,with 737 SEZs located in Southeast Asia, of which 167
were under development with a further 235 planned. The
countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) accountfor 184 of these with many in border areas.24
While they can play a role in spurring economic
development, SEZs have often raised a range of humanrights concerns, from the processes through which they
are established to their operation, within an overarchingframework of limited legal oversight. In some cases,
these factors are also enabling conditions for corruption,and they present a serious challenge to the rule of law.25
Notably, this is the case in the Golden Triangle SEZ in the
Bokeo Province of Lao PDR, in an area where Lao PDR,
Myanmar and Thailand meet, in which there are practical
restrictions on the access of law enforcement authorities. 26
It has proven difficult to ensure legal accountability forhuman rights abuses in SEZs, particularly where national
legislation is not in line with the State’s existing obligations
under international human rights law.27
Regulatory gaps are also present in the governance of
POGOs in the Philippines. POGOs themselves represent
a loophole, providing online gaming primarily to gamblers
from jurisdictions in which gambling is illegal. In 2020, thePhilippine Department of Finance (DOF) estimated that morethan 230 POGOs were operating in the country, but thePhilippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR),
responsible for regulating the online gaming industry, hadlicensed only 60, and of these, only 10 were paying
taxes according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
As of May 2022, there were 34 licensed POGOs in the
country. More recently, Philippine authorities have ordered
the closure of around two hundred operations that wereoperating without a license and the deportation of hundredsof migrant workers. The POGOs have been associated witha range of offences including the smuggling of migrants,
kidnappings and detention of migrant workers that may
constitute trafficking in persons, as well as corruption andfinancial crimes, including tax evasion.28
Corruption undermines accountability and threatens therule of law; it often precedes the human rights violation,
exacerbates its effects, and is a barrier to access to justiceand remedy.29 Reports indicate that there has been a lackof investigation into claims of collusion between the criminal
actors behind these scam operations and senior government
officials, politicians, local law enforcement and influential
businesspersons. For example, there have been credible
reports of law enforcement officials in different countries
either working as guards in the trafficking operations,assisting with moving trafficked persons across borders,tipping off traffickers in advance of raids and extortion of thevictims of trafficking, including in the context of immigration
detention following rescue.30

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

REUTERS/Cindy Liu

III. Online scam operations
in Southeast Asia as sitesof trafficking in persons

REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

From emerging reports, as well as from screening andidentification carried out by some countries in the region,
it is clear that individuals who have been forced to workin these scam centres meet the legal definition of traffickedpersons. This international legal definition – as it applies toadults – has three elements: the act, means, and purpose(see box). Each of these elements must be proven in orderfor the abuse to constitute human trafficking.31 Consent islegally irrelevant to cases of trafficking in persons.32 For
children, proving the “means” element of the definition
is not required: trafficking of children is defined as therecruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt
of a child for the purpose of exploitation.33

Action:		

the recruitment, transportation, transfer,harbouring or receipt of persons;

Means:
		
		
		
		
		
		

the threat or use of force or other forms of
coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of
deception, of the abuse of power or of aposition of vulnerability or of the giving
or receiving of payments or benefits toachieve the consent of a person having
control over another person;

Purpose:

exploitation.

In the sections that follow, this briefing paper describes how
the reported experiences of people in these online scam
operations fit each of the three elements of the trafficking
definition.

Recruitment into the online scams
The action
The first element of the trafficking in persons definition isthe action which brings an individual into the trafficking
situation. In the case of the online scams, people are
primarily recruited to these operations, often via advertised
professional roles such as programmers, marketers or
human resource specialists, through what appear to belegitimate and even elaborate procedures that may include
more than one round of interviews as well as language orother tests. Some victims have reported being targeted byrecruiters in their country of origin or from a third country
while others were recruited when they were already present
in the country of destination, having lost their jobs during
the pandemic and being unable or unwilling to returnhome. The traffickers may also assist with transportation,
including in some cases the necessary documentation. This

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
AS SITES OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

13

may take the form of regular entry into one country followedby smuggling them over the border to the site of the scam
operation. The migrants may have been assured of a work
visa on arrival at the destination and some have reported
not being aware they have crossed another international
border (e.g. from Thailand into Myanmar). On arrival,
migrants are typically received by the traffickers who collectthem from the airport or other port of entry and take themto temporary accommodation or transfer them directly to
the gated compounds or centre where the scams operate,
harbouring them there, where they are watched over by
security guards who are often heavily armed.34 At somepoint after arrival, the traffickers will take possession of the
migrants’ passports. There are also reports of people being
abducted and forced to work in scam operations or being
sold on from other forms of migrant labour.

Controlled through deception and violence
The means
Many of those who have been able to leave a scam
operation report that they were fraudulently recruited,
deceived into believing that they were moving to legitimate
jobs. They may have learned of these jobs via social
networks, or from a job site that is believed to be legitimate.
However, many report that they saw the advertisement on
a social media platform, including many of the best known
such as Facebook, Instagram and Tinder. The conditions
offered in these fraudulent ads are typically very attractive,
for example promising a high salary, regular bonuses,
free accommodation and food. The jobs are often said to
be based in Bangkok or other regional hubs. These false
advertisements are part of long-standing concern in theregion about internet scams offering fake employment or visa
opportunities and other fraudulent information to migrants
for other purposes, such as to harvest their personal data.35
This occurs in the context of wider concerns about therole of recruitment agents in human rights abuses against
migrant workers. This use of deception to recruit people
into the online scams constitutes the ‘means’ element of thetrafficking in persons definition.
In some cases, individuals may have understood that they
were being recruited to conduct online fraud but weredeceived as to the conditions – for example they were notaware that they would be detained in the compounds,
under- or unpaid, subject to beatings and other forms ofviolence, or forced to pay a ransom in order to leave.
The means element can also be relevant to the exploitation
element of the trafficking definition, since once in thecompounds, individuals are subjected to the threat or use
of force or other forms of coercion. 36 They are deprivedof their liberty and in some cases are unable even to move
between different floors of the compound in which they14

are confined. Reports have also been received of people
being chained to their desk. Many victims report that their
passports were confiscated, often along with their mobile
phones or they were otherwise prohibited from contacting
friends or family, a situation that UN human rights experts
have described as ‘detention incommunicado’.37 Reports
indicate that there is limited food and drinking water and thatliving conditions can be cramped and unsanitary. Victims
also report working hours as long and difficult (sometimes
related to the different time zones in which the scamming
activities are taking place). In addition, there is reportedly
inadequate access to medical treatment with some disturbing
cases of victims who have died as a result of mistreatment
and lack of medical care.38 Reports commonly describe
people being subjected to torture, cruel and degrading
treatment and punishments including the threat or use ofviolence (as well as being made to witness violence against
others) most commonly beatings, humiliation, electrocution
and solitary confinement, especially if they resist orders or
disobey compound rules or if they do not meet expectedscamming targets. 39 Reports have also been received of
sexual violence, including gang rape as well as trafficking
into the sex sector, most usually as punishment, for example
for failing to meet their targets.
The traffickers hold an ever-increasing debt over the migrants– claimed to be for costs such as for travel, quarantine
on arrival, training and living costs, and performancerelated fines – which they are told they have to pay before
they can be freed. This is a situation of debt-bondage.
This debt increases further when they are sold to anotherscam operation either within or outside the country, as
observed in examples of transfers of victims from Cambodia
to Myanmar, which may also constitute trafficking forthe purpose of servitude or slavery. Sometimes the
traffickers will demand this debt as ransom from victims’
families before the individuals can be released from thecompound, with victims reporting that their family members
were approached for ransom payments with photographic
evidence of the individual suffering physical abuse. On
occasion, people have attempted escape, including
by jumping off the compound buildings or swimming
across rivers (for example, from Myanmar to Thailand or
Cambodia to Viet Nam), however these attempts often end
unsuccessfully, either with death or severe punishment upon
recapture.40

Exploited for forced criminality
The purpose
Victims held in these scam operations are being exploitedfor the purpose of forced criminality to generate profit forthe criminal actors that orchestrate the scams. Individuals
are forced or coerced to perpetrate online fraud using a
range of platforms including fake gambling websites and

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

cryptocurrency investment platforms, as well as romantic
and financial scams (so-called “pig-butchering”), where
fake romantic relationships or friendships are used todefraud online users of significant amounts of money. The
scams are often sophisticated; fake websites are built toshowcase fraudulent data in order to convince the target
that there are significant profits to be made. People who

are targeted can also receive small amounts of money toconvince them of the legitimacy of the platform. The scam isusually a long process in which targets are approached forweeks or months to build trusted relationships. Some of thescam operations have developed detailed training manuals
and scripts that the trafficked person is made to follow toperpetrate the crimes.41

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
AS SITES OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

15

IV. A human rights response

REUTERS/Samrang PringA human rights-based response recognises trafficking as ahuman rights violation, places victims of trafficking at thecentre, and promotes a systemic and structural response.42
It understands that human rights can be violated andabused during and after trafficking, including within thecontext of counter-trafficking measures, as well as more
broadly within border management and other migration
governance frameworks. Such a response allows for anuanced intervention that considers the vulnerable situations
that traffickers are able to exploit and works to redress thediscriminations and power asymmetries that fuel impunity
for traffickers and deny justice to trafficked persons andmigrants in situations of vulnerability. A human rights-based
response understands that even where the situation of anindividual does not constitute trafficking in persons – andwhether or not they understood the criminal nature of thework they were undertaking – they may still be victims ofhuman rights abuses and of other crimes. Furthermore, ahuman rights-based response to these online scams, would
situate the phenomenon in the wider context within theregion of shrinking civic space and attacks on human rights
defenders and independent media, which requires steps to
avoid reprisals and ensure human rights protection of thoseat risk.43
In 2002, OHCHR published the Recommended Principles
and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking
in response to the need for practical, human rights-based
policy guidance on trafficking in persons, complemented byan accompanying Commentary.44 In addition, OHCHR has
developed human rights guidance on migrants in vulnerable
situations, recognising that all migrants are at human rights
risk in the context of the scam operations.45 OHCHR’s
recommendations on ensuring human rights measures atinternational borders are also relevant to this issue.46

A. Promoting and protecting human rights
The protection of human rights must be at the centre of all
measures taken to prevent and end trafficking in persons
and to protect, assist and provide redress to victims. 47
This should start prior to any situation of trafficking, as
counter-trafficking measures are most likely to be successful
and to avoid adverse human rights effects when they aredesigned with attention to the external context in which they
operate.48 Socio-economic inequalities and lack of accessto decent work, combined with conflict situations as well
as climate change and other environmental factors, aredriving precarious mobility within Southeast Asia. Limited
regular migration pathways and the ongoing impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic during this period exacerbatedchallenges in accessing safe and dignified migration
pathways.49
A comprehensive, rights-based response would help todistinguish victims of trafficking in persons and migrants
in situations of vulnerability through proper and timely
A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

17

identification. It would also recognise and accommodate
the many reasons why individuals may not wish to disclose
their trafficking experiences or to be identified as having
been trafficked or participate in a criminal investigation
and/or prosecution. Trafficked persons may be traumatisedand disoriented after leaving the compounds where they
were effectively imprisoned and not be ready to disclose
their experiences. They may fear the traffickers or theauthorities. They may be ashamed of having been deceived
by the traffickers and forced into criminality. They may
simply want to leave the experience behind them and returnhome as quickly as possible. They may know that in somecases being identified as a victim of trafficking does notbenefit them, for example, in being permitted to stay in thedestination country to find other livelihood options.50
States should provide a trauma-informed response that issensitive to people’s experience of trafficking and otherhuman rights abuses, and protect individuals from reprisals
by, and retaliation from, criminal groups, both in the

country where they were trafficked and the country to which
they are returned.51 A gender-sensitive response would
recognise that most victims in online scam centres arelikely to be men, and in this regard put in place measures
to combat stereotypes and victim-blaming attitudes aswell as gender-based discrimination in the delivery ofassistance and justice, while ensuring at the same time thatthe response is sensitive to the specific needs of women
victims of trafficking. A comprehensive response would
recognise in addition that migrants who have not been
trafficked but have been caught up in the phenomenon,
for example being witness to the abuse of others, may also
have human rights concerns, for which they should be able
to access protection.52 A comprehensive response, would
also recognise that criminal actors should be guaranteed
the right to a fair trial and to due process for any crimes ofwhich they are accused.53
As part of their obligations under international human rights
law, States have a duty to protect against human rights

Recommendations on promoting and protecting human rights
States, and other relevant actors as applicable, should:

8 Address the factors that create or increase situations of vulnerability that put individuals at risk of trafficking
and other human rights violations, including inequality, poverty, lack of decent work opportunities, allforms of discrimination as well as restrictive migration governance measures, and take legislative, policy
and other rights-based measures to end these criminal operations and their exploitative practices.

8 Ensure an adequate legal framework on trafficking by amending or adopting legislation in accordancewith international standards to ensure, inter alia, that the crime of trafficking, and practices covered by its
definition, are precisely defined in national law and the human rights protection of trafficked persons iseffectively built into anti-trafficking legislation.

8 Review and amend any laws and policies that may have unintended negative human rights consequencesfor victims of trafficking or other migrants in vulnerable situations, including in the context of countertrafficking or border control measures.

8 Ensure that business enterprises, including in conflict areas, whether private or State-owned/supported,
are not involved in trafficking in persons, including for the purpose of labour exploitation or forced
criminality, and ensure transparent and strict requirements for the entire recruitment process and strict rules
for placement and employment agencies.

8 Enforce applicable legislation and regulations to ensure that all businesses, including those operatingin SEZs, respect human rights throughout their operations and effectively address the risk of businessinvolvement in human rights abuses.

8 Provide law enforcement personnel with adequate training in the investigation and prosecution of casesof trafficking that is human rights-based and sensitive to the needs of trafficked persons, including in
conducting joint investigations and through common prosecution methodologies where relevant; as well as
facilitate the safe involvement of victims in prosecution.

8 Respect and support the activities of journalists and other human rights defenders including National
Human Rights Institutions and civil society organizations and provide, in law and in practice, a safe,
accessible and enabling environment for their work and ensure that they are protected from violence,
retaliation and other kinds of pressure or arbitrary action by State or non-State actors as a consequence of
their work.

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abuses by third parties, including business enterprises. The
State’s duty to protect is supplemented by the corporate
responsibility to respect human rights. 54 States should
proactively engage with private sector actors includinginternet service providers, digital technology companies,
international financial institutions and platforms to prevent
trafficking, to investigate and prosecute traffickers, to assist
and protect victims of trafficking in persons and to ensure
access to remedies.55
Finally, in line with States’ obligations under international
human rights law to respect and ensure human rights to allindividuals in their territory and subject to their jurisdiction,such a response would consider that there are no zones of
exemption from human rights obligations. The establishmentof SEZs does not exempt the State from its obligations underinternational human rights law. Regardless of the regulatory
provisions under which SEZs are set up, they should notoperate in a way that reduces human rights protection.
Similarly, as part of their duty to protect against businessrelated human rights abuse, States must take appropriate
steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative, legislativeor other appropriate means, that when such abuses occur
within their territory and/or jurisdiction those affectedhave access to effective remedy.56 This includes ensuring
access for human rights monitors, labour inspectors andlaw enforcement personnel and adequate training andresourcing for those actors on human rights dimensions of
their work and its application in SEZs.

B. Identification
States owe a particular duty of protection and support totrafficked persons and as such have a legal obligation
to identify victims of trafficking to ensure that victims canrealise the rights associated with this status.57 Rapid andaccurate identification of trafficked persons is a duty bothon the State where the trafficking takes place as well as theState to which trafficked persons return, and access to thenecessary protection will usually hinge on individuals being
formally identified as having been trafficked.
However, multiple reports indicate a lack of proper
identification of persons trafficked into these scam
operations. The situation is compounded more broadly by
the non-recognition of trafficking into forced criminality as
a form of trafficking in many Southeast Asian countries.
The confidential individual assessment at the heart of theidentification process should be focused on indicatorsof situations of vulnerability that put individuals at risk of
trafficking, rather than identifying elements of a crime. 58
Identification is also complicated by the fact that, fearing
reprisals from the traffickers, as well as fearing detection
by immigration authorities particularly when migrants are inan irregular migration situation, some victims report being

unable or unwilling to report violations to the authorities
in countries of destination. Human rights-based screening
should also identify migrants who do not meet the definition
or criteria of trafficking in persons but are in other situationsof vulnerability and ensure appropriate referrals, including
to legal, medical and psychological services that are
gender-, disability- and age-sensitive.59
People are instead being erroneously identified as criminals
on the basis of their work as a scammer without considerationthat they were forced to carry out this work, or for offences
under immigration laws such as being in irregular migration
status, having been smuggled, or not having a work permit.
Countries in the region do in theory have policies andprocedures to screen for trafficked persons, but these may
not be applied in cases of trafficking for forced criminality.

Recommendations on identification
States, and other relevant actors as applicable,
should:8 Ensure their screening procedures are adequate
to permit rapid and accurate identificationof trafficked persons for all forms of humantrafficking, in countries of destination as well
as of origin, to facilitate the provision of justice
and assistance.

8 Encourage and support the development ofproactive investigatory procedures that avoid
over-reliance on victim testimony.

8 Guarantee that all State authorities andofficials such as police, border guards,
immigration officials and others involvedin the counter-trafficking response have thecapacity and know how to implement theseprocedures fairly to identify those trafficked
into situations of forced criminality including
ensuring officials involved in the response are
adequately trained and have the necessary
skills in relevant languages.

8 Complement the screening for trafficking withhuman rights-based screening procedures toassess the individual situation of all migrants
and ensure referral to appropriate services andprotection bodies for migrants in vulnerable
situations.

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C. Non-Punishment Principle
A human rights-based approach to trafficking in persons
works to avoid re-victimisation and thus recognises thatpunishing a victim of trafficking for unlawful acts committed
as a consequence of their being trafficked is unjust andhinders the possibility of their recovery. 60 Known as thenon-punishment principle and first articulated in the OHCHR
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human
Trafficking,61 it is understood to be encompassed in one of
the aims of the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, whichis to protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, withfull respect for their human rights.62 Since the adoption of
the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, States have endorsed
the principle on various occasions and it is included inregional level frameworks in Southeast Asia, such as in
the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children (ACTIP).63 Seven ASEAN
States have non-punishment provisions in their countertrafficking legislation, although this mostly applies only toa select list of offences. 64 A limited approach, such as anarrow interpretation of offences committed as a “directconsequence” of trafficking, undermines the effectiveness ofthe principle. Contemporary human rights guidance is thatthe principle should be understood broadly – to include forexample, protection from prosecution for immigration law
violations, absence of regular documentation, and labour
law violations -- as well as for their involvement in unlawful
activities to the extent that such involvement was a directconsequence of their situation as victims of trafficking.65
A complicating factor in the context of online scams has
been that these crimes are situated within – and often under
the cover of – labour migration pathways. Yet addressing
the situation solely as a labour migration issue meansthat the proper identification of victims of trafficking andother migrants in vulnerable situations may become morechallenging. Some of the people trafficked into the scam
centres have reported they were under the impression thatthey were migrating for legitimate employment. On thisunderstanding, they handed over their passports voluntarily
to obtain the work permit or to acquire a SIM card. Others
reported their passports being forcibly confiscated by the
traffickers. Some of the victims arrived in the country ofdestination at least initially in a regular situation (including
ASEAN nationals who benefit from visa-free travel within20

the bloc), others were smuggled into the final country ofdestination and then coerced into criminality once handed
over to the traffickers, and still others were apparently notaware that they had been taken across international borders
to another country. 66 Many victims have been prosecutedfor irregular entry, stay and work where these are classed as
offences under national immigration laws including having
to pay overstay fines and face re-entry bans. Individuals
who are rescued from the scam centres are frequently held
in immigration detention, sometimes for prolonged periods,
and often until they are deported to their countries of origin.
Once returned, some also face prosecution in their own
countries for crimes related to the scamming, including
money laundering and conspiring to commit transnationalorganised crimes, as well as irregular re-entry into thecountry. For example, in October 2022, the Royal Thai
Police estimated that as many as 70 per cent of thetrafficked persons who had returned to Thailand were
subject to prosecution.67 Reports also indicate that someindividuals are subject to significant bond payments and/or electronic tagging on return to their countries of origin.
It would appear that some law enforcement authorities
have interpreted the fact that some migrants in these scam
centres had written contracts, albeit fraudulent, or that theyreceived payment for the forced work in the centres, asevidence that they were not trafficked but rather engaged
in labour migration. 68 The Trafficking in Persons Protocol
provides that a person cannot contract to commit a crime– any contract issued by the traffickers would thus be
unlawful– and cannot consent to be part of the online scams
if the means of trafficking (deception, fraud, the threat or
use of force or other forms of coercion) have been used.69
In other cases, there is evidence that the authorities areapplying administrative penalties to returnees in the hopethat this will act as a deterrent to irregular migration.70 In
line with international standards, implementation of the nonpunishment principle should not be limited to prosecution
but should permeate all stages of the criminal justice systemand should be applied as soon as there are reasonablegrounds to believe that a person has been trafficked.71 The
prosecution and detention of individuals who have been
trafficked raises serious concerns in relation to the rights ofvictims of trafficking to effective protection.72

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Recommendations on the non-punishment principle
States, and other relevant actors as applicable, should:

8 Ensure that there are specific provisions in national legislation to provide for the non-punishment ofvictims of trafficking and that this open-ended and non-exhaustive list includes criminal, immigration,
administrative or civil offences, in addition to “status-related” offences. Promote these widely, throughtraining and published guidance to all criminal justice systems and associated services.

8 Guarantee that trafficked persons shall never be deprived of their liberty, including immigration detention
and detention upon return. Apply the principle of non-punishment as soon as there are reasonable grounds
to believe that a person has been trafficked or as soon as the trafficked person, or their legal representatives,
raises a trafficking defence, in order to afford the trafficked person effective and full protection, including
by removing them immediately from detention or any situation of deprivation of liberty, and provide themwith assistance and protection.

8 Where the non-punishment has not been applied in cases of people trafficked into forced criminality,
allow individuals to expunge convictions against them for unlawful acts committed as a consequence oftrafficking, including irregular entry or stay, as these can hinder survivors’ ability to access services andare a barrier to recovery and reintegration.

8 Provide training and capacity-building for criminal justice personnel, social service providers and otherrelevant stakeholders to apply the non-punishment principle appropriately and in a timely manner to avoid
the revictimization of victims of trafficking.

D. Protection and effective remedies
The challenges in ensuring effective protection for victims of
trafficking are considerable, made more so in this situationby the trafficking taking place in States more used to being
countries of origin of people who are trafficked rather thanthe country in which the violations take place. Many ofthese States have only limited capacity for victim protection
and assistance and are often largely dependent on nongovernmental actors for these services. What assistance isavailable may be further limited by gender stereotypes suchas the perception that adult men cannot be trafficked or are
not as badly affected by their experiences. For instance,
concerns have been raised about the lack of protection
services for men who are victims of trafficking in Viet Nam,
Cambodia and Lao PDR.73
In reality, the solution that is most often available to migrants
who have been victims of trafficking into online scam centres
is to return to their home countries. Indeed, many of those
who have been able to extricate themselves or have been
rescued from these scam operations want to return home assoon as possible. 74 However, there are migrants who havebeen trafficked into the online scams who may be unable
or unwilling to return to their own country for a range ofreasons. Pre-removal risk assessments conducted in someof the countries of the region may not fully consider the riskof re-trafficking or other retribution by traffickers.75 Where
they do take place, returns should preferably be voluntaryand guarantee the migrant’s free, prior and informed

consent.76 Where return is not a rights-based option, victimsof trafficking should have access to secure legal status andlong-term social inclusion measures.77
States have a responsibility to safeguard the human rightsof trafficked persons and, where relevant in cooperationand partnership with civil society organizations and otherstakeholders, to protect them from further exploitation andharm and to provide access to adequate physical andpsychological care. This should never be contingent on
their cooperation with legal proceedings78 and should be
provided regardless of whether the perpetrator of the violation
is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted. To beaccessible to all trafficked persons, including those who are
migrants in irregular status, all assistance and associatedinformation sharing and exchange agreements between
States and within States need to be firewalled, that is,separate from immigration enforcement authorities andother security actors.79
Assistance includes safe and adequate, open shelter, accessto primary health care, including sexual and reproductive
health care, and counselling.80 Given the consistentreports of significant physical and psychological harm
experienced by victims, it would be important to ensure
their effective access to torture rehabilitation.81 Assistancealso includes access, where relevant and desired by thevictim, to appropriately trained diplomatic representatives
and consular assistance from their State of nationality and(Aditya Sutanta/ABACA via Reuters Connect)

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to competent, independent, free and confidential legal andother assistance, including interpretation services where
needed.82 Assistance and protection is required immediately
in the country of destination where the trafficking took place,and should also continue when the migrant returns to theirown country as their needs may be long-term.
Some of those who have returned to their own country fromthese scam operations report shame and stigma over theirexperiences, some citing in particular the fact that they wereforced to defraud fellow citizens. Some adolescent victims
have felt unable to return to school. Other victims reportbeing denied work while criminal charges are pending.
Some have been subjected to harassment by State officials
after returning to their own country including violations of
their right to freedom of movement and to privacy, withpublic disclosure of their names and shaming them for being
victims of trafficking.83 States have recognised that stigma
further disadvantages trafficked persons.84 Trafficked persons
and other migrants in situations of vulnerability need accessto long-term assistance on their return, tailored to their
particular needs, to support their sustainable reintegration by
ensuring their well-being, facilitating their social integrationand preventing re-trafficking.85 Returnees may also needassistance with housing, physical and mental health care,access to education and support in securing decent work.86
States should also ensure that their legal system contains
measures that offer victims of trafficking the possibility ofobtaining compensation for the damage suffered, such as
but not limited to loss of actual or potential earnings, as
appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violationand the circumstances of each case, independent of theinitiation or results of any criminal proceedings. 87 This
would recognise the reality that many may be compelledagain to seek precarious pathways for migration in theabsence of such support.
Moreover, as part of the right to remedy, States should takemeasures to ensure non-repetition of trafficking in persons tocombat impunity and prevent future violations.88
Special measures for the protection and support of childvictims of trafficking89
While not in the majority of victims, evidence suggests thatsome adolescent children have been targeted in the online
scams. In view of their particular vulnerability, it is critical thatany children who are trafficked are promptly identified assuch and that their best interests are a primary consideration
at all times.90 They should be provided with specialised
assistance and protection by persons with adequate andappropriate training, taking full account of their rights andneeds, to provide appropriate physical, psychosocial, legal,
educational, housing and health-care assistance.91 As for
adults, children should not be subjected to criminal procedures

22

for offences related to their situation as trafficked persons.92 In
addition to the protection and assistance measures outlined
above, children who have been trafficked should be reunited
with their family members (if they are unaccompanied) where
this is deemed to be in their best interest, following a riskassessment and giving due weight to the views of the child inaccordance with their age and maturity. If such a safe returnto their family is not possible or not in their best interests,
the State should establish adequate care arrangements that
respect the child’s rights and dignity.93 Children should not
be returned to orphanages, residential care facilities, or any
situation that will compromise their development or lead tosocial exclusion.94

Recommendations on protection andeffective remedies
States, and other relevant actors as applicable,
should:8 Provide early and continuing support andassistance, including legal advice and safe
access to shelter, psychological and material
assistance, to trafficked persons that is nondiscriminatory, culturally appropriate, traumainformed, gender-responsive and child-sensitive.

8 Guarantee that assistance is always provided
without conditions and irrespective of theability or willingness of the person to cooperatewith the prosecutorial authorities.

8 Establish

and respect firewalls between
immigration enforcement, criminal justice andservice providers, to ensure that all migrants
can access justice and assistance without
fear that they will be arrested, detained ordeported because of their migration status.

8 Ensure

child victims of these trafficking
operations are rapidly identified and dealt
with separately from adults in terms of laws,
policies, programmes and interventions, given
the particular physical, psychological andpsychosocial harm suffered by children who
have been trafficked. Ensure the child’s bestinterests are considered paramount at all times.

8 Provide effective access to criminal, civil oradministrative remedies, including compensationand the means for as full a rehabilitation as
possible including through expanded accessto rights-based pathways for continued stay incountries of destination, for victims of trafficking
and related human rights violations.

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E. Adequate legal framework
All ASEAN States are party to the UN Trafficking in Persons
Protocol and the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP) adopted
in 2015, which incorporates the internationally agreed legal
definition from the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. All thesecountries have put in place legislation against trafficking
in persons (together with provisions in the constitution,
penal code and other laws), supplemented by a range ofpolicies, guidelines, minimum standards, and other antitrafficking measures at the national level, often involving
several ministries.95 In addition, many ASEAN States havedeveloped various cooperation agreements, memorandaof understanding and other bilateral arrangements withother States in the region to address different aspects ofhuman trafficking, such as for the identification and return oftrafficked persons, victim assistance and reintegration, andthe sharing of information.96
While acknowledging these frameworks, it should be
noted that it is not sufficient in this context to have laws
or agreements on trafficking in persons if they are notapplied fairly to all forms of trafficking. Although countries
in the region generally have national legislation that is inline with the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, 97 reports
indicate that in some areas national legislation falls
short of international standards or that legal provisions
are not being applied in cases on trafficking into online
scams.98 At the national level, concerns have been raised
about long-standing challenges in ensuring an effective
counter-trafficking response including identification of andassistance and remedies to trafficked persons, protecting
victims from prosecution, or preventing corruption andofficial complicity in trafficking cases. 99 With the exceptionof Malaysia, all Southeast Asian countries are failing torecognise forced criminality as a purpose of exploitation
under the legal definition of trafficking.100 In Thailand, forexample, Section 41 of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act
exempts victims from prosecution but only for specific typesof wrongdoings.101 The lack of inclusion of scamming in
the list of exemptions has meant that authorities may feel
obliged to proceed instead with criminal charges, including
collusion in a transnational criminal manner. While this gap
should be urgently addressed to ensure that a State’s anti-

trafficking legislation covers all forms of human trafficking,it should be noted that it may be possible to prosecute thesescams under other legal provisions including those relevant
to forced labour, servitude or slavery.
Additionally, reports indicate that some migrants have been
unable to present concrete evidence to affirm their status
as victims of trafficking during the identification process
because they were unable to document their experience (forexample, because their phones were confiscated or theirdata deleted) or they had to destroy the little evidence theyhad.102 This means that people who are rescued or otherwiseable to extricate themselves from the scam operations arein many cases facing prosecution for offenses they wereforced to carry out while they were trafficked and/or for
irregular entry or stay in the country.
States have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute
traffickers103 and a positive obligation to act with due
diligence to prevent, investigate and punish all allegationsof human rights abuses under their jurisdiction irrespective of
the status or character of the perpetrator(s). This obligation
covers complicity in trafficking through corruption oraffiliation with any person or group of persons who could
reasonably be suspected of engaging in trafficking andrelated exploitation. 104 Individuals who were freed fromthe scam operations only to then be detained by the Stateauthorities have reported being extorted by law enforcement
officials who charge them for food, bedding, access to theirphones, or to be released. Victims have also alleged that
law enforcement officials directly assisted their traffickers,
for example in facilitating travel across international borders
or working as guards in the scam centres. All ASEAN States
are party to the UN Convention Against Corruption which
requires the establishment of criminal and other offences tocover a wide range of acts of corruption, and to periodicallyevaluate laws and regulations to determine their adequacy
to prevent and fight corruption. States have an obligation
to combat corruption as part of their broader human rights
commitments and promotion of good governance and therule of law. 105 Human rights principles and institutions are
essential components of successful and sustainable anticorruption strategies, enabling a systemic approach rather
than treating it as a problem of individuals.106

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Recommendations on an adequate legal framework
States, and other relevant actors as applicable, should:

8 Ratify and effectively implement all core international human rights instruments as well as other internationaland regional treaties relevant to the protection of victims of trafficking and other migrants in situationsof vulnerability and engage with relevant international human rights mechanisms such as the Special
Rapporteurs on the human rights of migrants and on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

8 Revise as necessary any counter-trafficking laws, policies or other measures and realign resourcing toaccount for the changed reality of the country as one of destination of trafficked persons and other migrants
in situations of vulnerability.

8 Adopt legislative and other measures to ensure that any investigation and prosecution of trafficking for the
purpose of online scams is compliant with international human rights law. Ensure that any intrusive measuresand data collection that are part of law enforcement investigation and prosecution of these crimes complies
with the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality to avoid unlawful or arbitrary interferencewith the right to privacy. Any covert intrusive measure must be subject to prior judicial authorisation andoversight.

8 Ensure that appropriate legislative measures are put in place in order to protect victims of trafficking,supplemented by policy and administrative actions to ensure implementation, with a specific provision indomestic legislation and detailed guidance.

8 Exercise due diligence in identifying and eradicating public sector involvement or complicity in humantrafficking and preventing and reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms. All public officials suspectedof being implicated in trafficking and/or corruption that facilitates trafficking should be investigated andprosecuted in accordance with due process and fair trial standards.

8 Implement human rights protections in legislation on cybercrimes and internet governance at the national,
regional and global levels.

F. Rights-based governance of migration
An effective response to the issues raised in the context
of online scams in Southeast Asia will need to encompass
attention to the overall migration governance context
within which trafficking and other abuses are taking
place. Widespread policies of criminalisation of irregularmigration in Southeast Asia are exacerbating the situationof vulnerability in which the victims of online scams findthemselves, even after they have been released from thecentres, as well as impeding the rights of migrants more
broadly.107 At the same time, efforts to prevent trafficking
into the scam centres should not adversely affect the humanrights of migrants, such as by introducing disproportionate
restrictions in law or practice that limit the opportunities
of migrants, including on the basis of their gender, age,marital or parental status.108
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many migrants
who had been trafficked into the scam operations wereunable to return home, either because of COVID-19
related border closures or because they could not afford
the increased airfares and the cost of required COVID-19
protocols such as quarantine. Afraid of their traffickers,

24

some reported that they felt they had to go into hiding until
they could leave or were accommodated in safe houses. 109
Still others were left destitute and at risk of re-trafficking orother abuse following their release from the centres. Evenas the borders gradually reopened in the region between
2021-22, some remain stranded with little assistanceavailable and unable to afford to return home or to accesstheir passports and identity documents.
Return may not be an option for some individuals such as
Myanmar nationals who face widespread insecurity, socioeconomic instability or persecution upon return.110 Others
may risk criminal prosecution upon return for their involvement– albeit unwilling – in the online scams or on immigration
grounds, while others may face reprisals such as from theirdebtors upon return. Return might be problematic for otherreasons, such as the need to earn money, especially after
a period of low or no income during their trafficking, thedebt burden they took on in the first place, the payment of
ransom to the traffickers, and the need to pay immigrationfines.111 Migrants who had left their countries because of
economic crisis, such as that in Sri Lanka, are reportedly
reluctant to return empty-handed to the same dire situation.

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Trafficked persons and other migrants in situations ofvulnerability should be able to access mechanismsthat provide protection from return on human rights orhumanitarian ground, including at least temporary pathways
to stay in the country of destination which would guarantee
their rights.112 Where relevant, victims of trafficking shouldbe able to access refugee status determination procedures
and, where appropriate, to be included in refugee
resettlement processes.113
Many of the individuals caught up in the scam centres
remain in – often prolonged – immigration detention after
release from the scam centres, including because they areunable to pay the irregular entry or visa overstay fines.
Some people have reportedly been re-trafficked from theimmigration detention centres with the collusion of guards.
There are also serious human rights concerns about theliving conditions in immigration detention and prisons in
the region.114 Human rights guidance including of the UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is that migrants’irregular entry and stay in a country should not be treatedas a criminal offence, and such criminalisation of irregularmigration always exceeds the legitimate interests of Statesin protecting their territories and regulating irregularmigration flows. 115 The detention of any migrant children(under 18 years old) is prohibited.116 In the context of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Human Rights Office calledon States in the region to reduce their prison populations
and end immigration detention in line with public healthguidance.117
The fact that many victims of this form of trafficking were
under the impression they were recruited for a real job
underlines in particular the urgency of ending longdocumented recruitment-related abuses faced by migrant
workers118 and ensuring effective regulation and oversightof recruitment agencies, as well as appropriate forms ofremedy and redress.119

G. Cooperation and coordination
A meaningful response to trafficking requires cooperation
between authorities in the country of origin of the traffickedperson and the country in which the trafficking took place(and possibly other countries, for example if the accusedtrafficker needs to be extradited from a third country).120 The
online scam operations are a regional issue within ASEAN,
clearly seen when a strengthened national response in one
location or State results in them moving elsewhere. As such,it requires a joined-up regional response.121

Recommendations on rights-based governance of migration
States, and other relevant actors as applicable, should:

8 In line with international norms and standards including the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular
Migration, put in place measures to enhance rights-based governance of migration at the national andregional levels. To reduce risk of trafficking in persons, expand access to safe migration pathways andhuman rights protection measures.

8 Adopt or amend legislation to ensure that irregular entry or stay is not considered a criminal offence. Ensure
that, in line with the UN Smuggling of Migrants Protocol, migrants who have entered the country with theassistance of smugglers are not criminalised for having been smuggled. Ensure too that administrative
sanctions applied to irregular entry are proportionate and reasonable. Correspondingly, amend legislation
to establish a presumption against immigration detention and, where relevant, put in place rights- andcommunity-based alternatives to detention. Ensure that children are never detained for reasons related totheir or their parents’ migration status as immigration detention is never in a child’s best interests.

8 Scrupulously uphold the principle of non-refoulement for trafficked persons and other migrants in vulnerable
situations who risk irreparable harm or other serious human rights violations upon return. Implement rightsbased alternatives to return such as pathways to stay on human rights and humanitarian grounds ensuringthat these pathways provide secure status and access to rights, including livelihood and family reunification
options.

8 Facilitate rights-based returns and sustainable reintegration for migrants who are able and willing to return,in informed, safe and dignified conditions, including ensuring that they are able to access relevant traveland other identity documents to facilitate their return.

8 Ensure that measures to prevent trafficking into the scam operations do not have wider human rights
impacts including on the right to leave any county and to return to one’s own country.

8 Act to protect all migrants from abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices and regulate labour recruiters
and other intermediaries effectively.

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The border closures that were put in place during the
COVID-19 pandemic presented a major challenge toeffective joint investigations and a meaningful cross-border
response. But many challenges remain even after theserestrictions have been lifted, beginning with a lack ofagreement on the extent and severity of the scam operations.
Cross-border rescue operations have faced the practicalchallenges of ensuring cooperation between different law
enforcement agencies, which has led to delayed action.
Many consular officials have been actively engaged inlocating, freeing and supporting their nationals trafficked
into these scam operations, as well as facilitating theirreturn. Several States in the region and elsewhere in Asiaand their embassies have issued warnings to their nationals
about the trafficking risk associated with fake recruitment
advertisements offering well-paying jobs.122 Some havealso placed signs at airports or are requiring travellers to
declare their purpose of travel to certain countries before
they are allowed to leave the country.
However, there is in some cases a practical challenge inrelying on consular assistance as not all countries have anembassy or diplomatic presence in the country where they
are trafficked into these online scams nor the necessary
cross-border cooperation agreement to enable rights-based
returns.123 Reports from victims indicate that in some cases
they have not received the necessary diplomatic assistanceand cooperation, with nationals of some countries having
to find their own way to secure the necessary documents toreturn home.124
Cooperation and coordination in line with international
human rights law are also urgently needed with the private
sector, including telecom companies providing internet
capacity to the scam compounds, including cross-border insome cases, and the banks where traffickers convert theircryptocurrency into the regular financial system. The roleof technology companies that host the platforms on which
fraudulent recruitment is taking place, as well as messaging
platforms that allow criminal actors to plan and implementhuman trafficking activities and other human rights abuses,
is central to this form of trafficking and requires a rightscompliant response. Technology companies must anticipate
and address harms related to the use (and mis-use) of theirproducts and services, paying special attention to any
particular human rights impacts on individuals from groups
or populations that may be at heightened risk of vulnerability
or marginalisation, and engage in appropriate remedialaction. UN Human Rights has developed guidance fortechnology companies to implement human rights due
diligence and uphold their corporate responsibility torespect human rights. 125
For example, Meta, the parent company of platforms like
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, rolled out a short
26

campaign in Cambodia in 2022 called “Let’s talk about
online scams” to assist people to protect themselves fromonline fraud. While such awareness-raising actions are apositive start, much more needs to be done, recognisingat the same time the challenge in identifying fake job
advertisements and monitoring criminality within the context
of technology platforms without restricting people’s rights.
Awareness-raising efforts need to extend to law enforcement
actors, including border officials and other responders toensure they are able to recognise this form of trafficking inpersons and make the necessary referrals, treating affectedindividuals as victims of crime and human rights violations
and not as perpetrators.
Countries in Southeast Asia have put in place numerous
regional and sub-regional, bilateral and national
agreements and mechanisms on aspects of humantrafficking, including on international cooperation.126 For
example, Cambodia’s National Committee for Counter
Trafficking includes an International Cooperation Working
Group. Thailand and Myanmar have had an agreement on
Bilateral Cooperation for Eliminating Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children and Assisting Victimsof Trafficking since 2008. 127 For the GMS countries, 128
the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against
Trafficking (COMMIT) is an inter-governmental body that
supports cooperation against trafficking. The COMMIT
process is developing a transnational referral mechanism
to promote cooperation in identifying, protecting andrepatriating victims of trafficking.129 Some States also
cooperate through the cross-regional mechanism the Bay of
Bengal Initiative on Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to combat transnational organised
crimes including trafficking in persons.130 Other relevant
initiatives at the regional level include Interpol’s ASEAN
Cybercrime Operations Desk which has been establishedto address growing cyberthreats in the region. In addition,
all ASEAN States are members of and participate in theBali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons
and Related Transnational Crime that covers the wider Asia
Pacific region.131
ASEAN itself has developed a Plan of Action, which
complements the ACTIP and recognises the need for “astrong international cooperation and a comprehensive
regional approach”.132 The ASEAN Intergovernmental
Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is the core humanrights mechanism within the region and works to promote
and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of
the peoples of ASEAN.133 AICHR does not have a formal
mechanism to accept complaints.
Meeting in Cambodia in August 2022, ASEAN Foreign
Ministers’ discussed trafficking in persons in the region
and the need to address root causes, including in thecontext of the COVID-19 pandemic.134 Following fromONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

these discussions, an ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on
Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by the Abuse ofTechnology was adopted in May 2023, affirming Member
States’ commitment to work towards more effective regional
and international cooperation in the context of trafficking
in persons which has been proliferated through the use
and abuse of social media and other online platforms.135
The Declaration, while falling short of explicitly grounding
the response in human rights law, commits ASEAN States
to ensure effective implementation of existing ASEAN
instruments, such as the ACTIP, in order to maintain theirrelevance and adaptability and to identify and address
gaps in relevant legal frameworks and systems including
migration and border management. There have been
similar efforts at the national level in some ASEAN Member
States, for example, in May 2023 Viet Nam issued a
Directive on strengthening the prevention of crimes related
to gambling activities including in cyberspace,136 noting
however that concerns have been raised that the languageof the Directive is overbroad and could be misused tocensor legitimate conduct.

Recommendations on cooperation and coordination
States should:

8 Strengthen the oversight and enforcement capacity of administrative regulatory bodies, including byimplementing more stringent regulations and frequent controls on relevant platforms, such as where fraudulent
recruitment takes place, to protect against human trafficking and uphold the human rights of all migrants.

8 Develop and implement rights-based cooperation arrangements between relevant authorities in countries oforigin and destination to facilitate the rapid identification of trafficked persons and other migrants in situationsof vulnerability including the sharing and exchange of information in relation to their nationality and right ofresidence while respecting and protecting the right to privacy and in line with data protection principles.

8 Strengthen international cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination, including througheffective bilateral and regional mechanisms or protocols for the conduct of proactive joint investigations
by law enforcement authorities in line with international human rights law, to facilitate the exchange of
information concerning traffickers and their methods of operation and procedures, to enable rights-based
return for victims who consent to go back to their country, and to trace missing persons in the context of
online scam operations.

8 Facilitate the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights to receive and respond to humanrights complaints from States, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in regard to online scam
operations.

8 Enable National Human Rights Institutions across the region to conduct cross-border cooperation agreements
and strategies to protect the human rights of victims of trafficking and other migrants in situations ofvulnerability.

8 Ensure that trafficked persons are informed of their right of access to diplomatic and consular representatives.
Staff working in embassies and consulates should be provided with appropriate training in responding torequests for information and assistance from trafficked persons.

The private sector should:

8 Make all efforts to meet their responsibility to respect all human rights, including the full operationalisationof the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

8 Conduct human rights due diligence to ensure that their platforms and services are not used for the purposeof trafficking. A key element of human rights due diligence should be regular and comprehensive humanrights impact assessments.

8 Have clear and transparent processes to address fraudulent job advertisements on their platforms, including
their spread through the use of automated systems, and ensure in this the participation of and consultations
with affected communities.

States and the private sector should:

8 Work together to address gaps in the coverage of different remediation mechanisms. States should design
technology sector policies that are coherent and regulations that are fully in line with international humanrights norms and standards in order to create an environment in which human rights are protected.
A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

27

V. Conclusion

REUTERS/Matthew TostevinIn many instances, countries in Southeast Asia already havein place legal and policy frameworks relevant to countertrafficking, in addition to myriad tools and mechanisms at
national, regional and global levels. Although these existing
legal and policy frameworks continue to be relevant andapplicable, in some cases they fall short of international
standards and their implementation has in large part failed
to respond adequately to the situation of trafficking forforced criminality in the online scams that emerged prior to,during, and since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The enormous scale of the situation – cumulatively amounting
to hundreds of thousands of people across the region who
have fallen victim to this complex form of trafficking since2021 – has undoubtedly contributed to the inadequate
response. The fact that this phenomenon was in many ways
exacerbated by the pandemic has been another barrier toeffective response, particularly in the face of widespreadborder closures and other movement restrictions. Further
complicating the situation is that this form of trafficking
poses challenges for how the region has traditionallyviewed and understood trafficking – including notions as
to who is a victim, which are origin/destination countries,
and what kinds of law enforcement responses as well as
cross-border cooperation are needed. The traffickers’
ability to move their operations – and often physically their
victims – between countries in the region demonstrates that
ASEAN States need to take a sustained regional approachto addressing this issue.
Knowledge and capacity take time to build, and more
research and dialogue is required on this still emerging
but critical regional issue, in addition to the robust
implementation and improvement of existing legal
frameworks. The commitment made by ASEAN leaders
to task the relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies to mobilise
resources and modalities and develop response strategies,
as well as exploring the development of a regionalreferral mechanism, are important steps which should be
implemented urgently.137
Above all, efforts in Southeast Asia to strengthen theprotection and promotion of human rights and to improvegovernance and the rule of law must be as much a partof the response to these scams as a robust criminal justiceresponse. States in the region need to summon the political
will to address organised crime and corruption as part ofa rights-based and comprehensive response to the humanrights violations and abuses detailed in this briefing paper.
Such a holistic approach provides the only solution tobreaking the cycle of impunity and ensuring protection andjustice for the people who have been trafficked and abused
within this complex phenomenon.

CONCLUSION

29

Endnotes
1

In this paper, countries of Southeast Asia are understood as Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Viet Nam

2

For explanation on the methods used in this criminal activity, see Bali Process Regional Support Office, 2023. Trapped in Deceit:
Responding to the trafficking in persons fuelling the expansion of Southeast Asia’s online scam centres, pp.8-9, at https://s3.apsoutheast-2.amazonaws.com/assets.baliprocess.net/app/uploads/2023/04/07111922/TiPScams-Policy-Brief_RSO.pdf

3

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Trafficking in Persons Protocol), Article 3(a); see also, OHCHR and the Global
Migration Group, 2018. Principles and Guidelines, supported by practical guidance, on the human rights protection of migrants
in vulnerable situations.

4

See OHCHR, 2010. Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking: Commentary. HR/
PUB/10/2, p.49

5

In addition to the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, other relevant international instruments include: the ILO Forced Labour Convention
1930 (No. 29) and its Protocol of 2014, the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) and the ILO
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); the Slavery Convention (1926); International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (1966) Article 8; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), Article 10.3; theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), Article 6; the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (1989), Articles 32, 35, and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography(2000; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990),
preamble, Article 11; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), Article 27.2

6n addition, States have repeatedly affirmed that human trafficking is a human rights violation, for example by adopting resolutions
at the UN Human Rights Council including the creation and repeated affirmation of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on
trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

7

OHCHR conducted all interviews and consultations for this report in accordance with its standard practices and methodology,
applying the do no harm principle and a victim/survivor-centred approach to monitoring and investigations.

8

UNODC, 2019. Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Growth and Impact. At https://www.unodc.org/
documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/2019/SEA_TOCTA_2019_web.pdf

9Information on file with OHCHR.

10

See for example, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations on Cambodia under the Optional Protocol to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. CRC/C/OPSC/
KHM/CO/1, 26 February 2015.

11

Chainanalysis, 2022. The 2022 Crypto Crime Report. February 2022, https://go.chainalysis.com/rs/503-FAP-074/images/
Crypto-Crime-Report-2022.pdf

12Bali Process Regional Support Office, 2023, p.9.

13

Information on file with OHCHR.

14

There are also now warnings of this form of trafficking for forced criminality growing beyond Southeast Asia, further increasing
the reach of harm for those trafficked into the criminal operations as well as those then targeted in the scams. INTERPOL,
2023. INTERPOL issues global warning on human trafficking-fuelled fraud. 7 July, at https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/
News/2023/INTERPOL-issues-global-warning-on-human-trafficking-fueled-fraud

15

Information on file with OHCHR.

16

All ASEAN States are party to the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol and also to the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking
in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP).

17

OHCHR, 2022. End of Mission Statement. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia
Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, Phnom Penh, 26 August.

18

ASEAN Framework Agreement on Visa Exemption, 2006, https://agreement.asean.org/media/download/20160831072909.
pdf. Note that frontline border officers in the region have been “trained to look for specific demographics in their effort toidentify potential trafficking victims” making the task of accurately screening and identifying victims of these online scams morechallenging. See Bali Process Regional Support Office, 2023, p.21.

19

UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), Article 20.

20

For more on the law enforcement challenge, see Bali Process Regional Support Office, 2023.

21

Ross Tapsell, 2020. Deepening the Understanding of Social Media’s Impact in Southeast Asia. ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
Trends in Southeast Asia: Issue 4, March 2020.

22

OHCHR, 2023. Human Rights Impacts of New Technologies on Civic Space in South-East Asia, at https://www.ohchr.org/
sites/default/files/documents/issues/civicspace/OHCHR-TECHCS-SEA2023.pdf

23

Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, A/HRC/32/41, 3 May 2016,
para.59

30

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24

UNCTAD, 2019. World Investment Report 2019. UNCTAD/WIR/2019. Chapter IV: Special Economic Zones, pp.128-206

25See, for example, Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other businessenterprises: Visit to Thailand. A/HRC/41/43/Add.1, 21 May 2019.

26

UNODC, 2016. Mekong River drug threat assessment, https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/archive/documents/
Publications/2016/Mekong_River_Drug_Threat_Assessment_low.pdf

27

International Commission of Jurists, 2017. Special Economic Zones in Myanmar and the State Duty to Protect Human Rights.

28

Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Third periodic report submitted
by the Philippines under article 73 of the Convention pursuant to the simplified reporting procedure, due in 2019. CMW/C/
PHL/3, 22 February 2023, see para.132(b); UNODC ROSEAP and RSO, 2021. Corruption as a Facilitator of Trafficking in
Persons and Smuggling of Migrants: Desk Review and Survey of Media. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ROSEAP) and the Regional Support Office of the Bali Process (RSO).

29

See inter alia Seventh annual report of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, CAT/C/52/2, 20 March 2014, para.76; Final report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee
on the issue of the negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights, A/HRC/28/73.

30

Information on file with OHCHR.

31

UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Article 3(a). The situation also fits the definition of forced labour (“all work or service whichis exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”:
ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), Article 2.1.) The updated Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention,
1930, is complementary with the counter-trafficking legislation and measures as: “the measures referred to in this Protocol shall
include specific action against trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced or compulsory labour” (2014 Protocol, Article
1.3).

32

UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Article 3(b).

33

UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Article 3(c).

34

For example, these concerns have been raised by UN Special Procedures in the context of Cambodia, see joint communicationfrom the UN special procedures to the government of Cambodia: Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons,especially women and children; the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and otherbusiness enterprises; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia; the Special Rapporteur on the rights
of indigenous peoples and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences.
Ref: AL KHM 2/2022, 20 September 2022. See also the responses from the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia
to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations at Geneva, dated 15 November 2022 and 18 November,at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=37260 and https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/
DownLoadFile?gId=37264

35

See for example, Tech Transparency Project (TTP), 2022. Anatomy of a Scam: How Facebook and WhatsApp Spread
Misinformation to Migrants, TTP, 14 October, at https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/anatomy-scam-how-facebook-andwhatsapp-spread-misinformation-migrants

36

Joint communication from the UN special procedures to the government of Cambodia, AL KHM 2/2022

37

OHCHR, 2022. End of Mission Statement. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia
Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, Phnom Penh, 26 August.

38

Information on file with OHCHR.

39

Information on file with OHCHR.

40

Bali Process Regional Support Office, 2023 and information on file with OHCHR.

41

Bali Process Regional Support Office, 2023, pp.8-10.

42Anne T. Gallagher & Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, 2015. The UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking: A Turbulent Decade in Review. Human
Rights Quarterly 37, 913–940; Reports of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, A/
HRC/44/45, 6 April 2020 and A/75/169, 17 July 2020.

43

OHCHR/GMG, 2018, Principles and Guidelines, Supported by Practical Guidance, on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants
in Vulnerable Situations, principle 18 and its guidelines, and also guidelines 4,7, 16.5. See also OHCHR, 2023. Human
Rights Impacts of New Technologies on Civic Space in South-East Asia.

44

OHCHR, 2002. Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Report of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Economic and Social Council: Addendum, E/2002/68/Add.1, 20 May 2002;
OHCHR, 2011, Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking: Commentary.

45

OHCHR/GMG, 2018, Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations.

46

OHCHR, 2014. Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders.

47

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 1.

48

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 3 and guideline 1.1.

49

OHCHR, 2022, Pathways to migrant protection: A mapping of national practice for admission and stay on human rights andhumanitarian grounds in Asia and the Pacific.

ENDNOTES

31

50

Rebecca Surtees and Thaufiek Zulbahary, 2018. Seeing the Unseen: Barriers and Opportunities in the Identification of Trafficking
Victims in Indonesia. Washington DC: NEXUS Institute.

51

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, guideline 9.12.

52

Individuals may also be entitled to protection as victims of crime, see for example, Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice forVictims of Crime and Abuse of Power, General Assembly resolution 40/34, 29 November 1985.

53

See for example, Thomas Harré, 2022. Human Traffickers’ Fair Trial Rights and Transnational Criminal Law. Anti-Trafficking
Review, 18, 159-173. https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.2012221810.

54

OHCHR, 2011. UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect andRemedy” Framework, principle 25.

55

Report of the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children: Due diligence and trafficking inpersons, A/70/260, 3 August 2015.

56

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

57

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 2, guideline 2

58

Reports of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, A/HRC/44/45, 6 April 2020,
para.68 and A/75/169, 17 July 2020, para.65.

59

Principles and Guidelines on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations, see guidelines 5.5, 5.6, 10.6,
11.2.

60

Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children: Implementation of the non-punishment
principle. A/HRC/47/34, 17 May 2021.

61

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 7; guidelines 2.5 and 4.5, see also
7.5.

62

UNODC Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, Guidance on the issue of appropriate criminal justice responses to victims who
have been compelled to commit offences as a result of their being trafficked. Background paper prepared by the Secretariat.
CTOC/COP/WG.4/2022/2, 7 April 2022, para. 4.

63

Article 14.7. The principle is also included in various internationally negotiated texts, inter alia, the Political Declaration on
the Implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, A/RES/76/7, 9 November
2021, Annex, para.13.

64

Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. See further, Marika McAdam, 2022.
Implementation of the Non-Punishment Principle for Victims of Human Trafficking in ASEAN Member States. ASEAN-ACT.

65

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General recommendation No. 38 on trafficking in women andgirls in the context of global migration, CEDAW/C/GC/38, 20 November 2020, para.98; Special Rapporteur on trafficking
in persons, A/HRC/47/34, paras.32, 41.

66

Information on file with OHCHR.

67

Rebecca Ratcliffe, 2022. Sold to gangs, forced to run online scams: inside Cambodia’s cybercrime crisis. The Guardian, 10
October, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/10/sold-to-gangs-forced-to-run-online-scams-inside-cambodias-cybercrimecrisis

68

Information on file with OHCHR. Note also that the use of these contracts by criminal actors may constitute evidence of acrime, even where the situation of an individual does not meet the threshold of human trafficking, for example where any pay
received is well below the promised amount and subject to excessive deductions.

69

Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Article 3(b)70Information on file with OHCHR.

71

UNODC Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, CTOC/COP/WG.4/2022/2, paras.11, 16(b)72

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 11 and guidelines 1.6, 2.7, 4.6;
Joint communication from the UN special procedures to the government of Cambodia, AL KHM 2/2022. Principle 4 andguidelines 2.6, 6.1; on the use of closed shelters in the region. See also, Marika McAdam, 2021. Freedom of movement for
persons identified as victims of human trafficking: An analysis of law, policy and practice in the ASEAN Region, ASEAN–Australia
Counter Trafficking.

73

Joint communication from the UN special procedures to the government of Cambodia, AL KHM 2/2022; Human Rights Committee,
Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Viet Nam. CCPR/C/VNM/CO/3, 29 August 2019, para.39; US
Department of State, 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report: Laos, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/
laos/ See also Laura S. Johnson, Marika McAdam, Rebecca Surtees and Thaufiek Zulbahary, 2020. Trafficking Victim Protection
Frameworks in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam: A Resource for Practitioners. Washington, D.C., UnitedStates: NEXUS Institute and Winrock International.

74

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 11

75

Joint communication from the UN special procedures to the government of Cambodia, AL KHM 2/2022; Recommended Principles
and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 11 and guidelines 1.6, 2.7, 4.6, 6.7

32

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE

76

Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Articles 8(2); Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking,Principle 11; Guideline 6.7

77

Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Article 6(3); Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable
Situations, Principle 6 and its guidelines

78

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 879

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, Guideline 10.11; Principles and Guidelines
on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations, including guidelines 3.6, 12.8, 13.4

80

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Guidelines 6.1, 6.2

81

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 14; Committee against
Torture, General Comment No. 3, CAT/C/GC/3, 19 November 201282

Principle 9, Guidelines 6.3, 6.5; Principles and Guidelines on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations,see guidelines under principle 3. Also, information provided by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations, Geneva, Switzerland, dated 12 June 2023

83

Information on file with OHCHR84

See the UN General Assembly resolutions on trafficking in women and girls, most recently A/RES/77/194, 30 December 2022

85

Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, A/HRC/41/46, 23 April 201986

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Guideline 6.8; Rebecca Surtees, 2013. After
trafficking. Experiences and challenges in the (re)integration of trafficked persons in the GMS region. UNIAP & NEXUS Institute;
Rebecca Surtees, 2017. Supporting the Reintegration of Trafficked Persons. A Guidebook for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region.
Bangkok, Thailand: NEXUS Institute, UN-ACT and World Vision

87

Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Article 6(6). Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women andchildren, Annex: Basic principles on the right to an effective remedy for victims of trafficking in persons, A/69/269, 6 August
2014, principles 10-12

88

Basic principles on the right to an effective remedy for victims of trafficking in persons, including at principle 17; Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, principle 25 (commentary)

89

See also, Basic principles on the right to an effective remedy for victims of trafficking in persons, para.18

90

Convention on the Rights of the Child, Second Optional Protocol Articles 8(2) and 8(3); Recommended Principles and Guidelines
on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 10, guideline 8.2. Where the age of the victim is uncertain and there arereasons to believe that the victim is a child, they must be presumed to be a child and be accorded special protection measurespending the verification of their age, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Second Optional Protocol, Article 8(2); see also
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, A/HRC/47/34, para.62; Principles and Guidelines on the human rights protectionof migrants in vulnerable situations, guideline 10.4

91

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Guidelines 8.7, 8.10.

92

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Guideline 8.3.

93

Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Guidelines 8.4, 8.5, 8.6.

94

Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, guideline 6.8.

95

For example, in June 2022, Myanmar amended its Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Persons Law to include additional
punishments and charges for traffickers who use internet and information technology. Information provided by the Permanent
Mission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations, Geneva,
Switzerland, dated 12 June 2023.

96

For a listing of some of these, see the appendices of: Johnson et al., 2020. Trafficking Victim Protection Frameworks in Cambodia,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam

97

UNODC, 2022. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022 - Country profiles: East Asia and the Pacific, at https://www.
unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2022/East_Asia_and_the_Pacific.pdf.

98

See for example, Joint communication from the UN special procedures to the government of Cambodia, AL KHM 2/2022.

99

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Cambodia,
CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/6, 12 November 2019, paras. 26-7; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Concluding observations on the combined eighth and ninth periodic reports of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. CEDAW/C/
LAO/CO/8-9, 14 November 2018, paras. 27-8; Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the reportsubmitted by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic under article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rightsof the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. CRC/C/OPSC/LAO/CO/1, 3 July 2015, paras.
31, 35, 37; Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding observations on the combined fourth to eighth
reports of Thailand. CERD/C/THA/CO/4-8, 3 December 2021, para. 30; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Thailand. CEDAW/C/THA/
CO/6-7, 24 July 2017, paras. 20, 24-25; Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Membersof Their Families, Concluding observations on the third periodic report of the Philippines. CMW/C/PHL/CO/3, 13 April 2023,
para. 58.

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100 Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, A/HRC/47/34, para.38.
101 Anti-Human Trafficking Act, B.E 2551 (2008). Section 41
102 Information on file with OHCHR.
103 UNTOC, Article 11; Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principles 2, 13; guidelines
5, 7.8, 11.8.
104 Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, guideline 10.3; Recommended Principles andGuidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, guidelines 2.7, 2.11, 3.17; Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights
Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, guideline 17.5
105 Cross regional statement by Morocco on “corruption and human rights” on behalf of 134 States, 20th session of the Human
Rights Council, Geneva, 26th June 2012. See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Committee on
Enforced Disappearances , Committee on Migrant Workers, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Joint
Statement on “Corruption and Human Rights”, 31 May 2021; See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women, General recommendation No. 38 on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, CEDAW/C/
GC/38, 20 November 2020, para. 44.
106 OHCHR, 2013, The Human Rights Case Against Corruption, 27 March, HR/NONE/2013/120.
107 Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 3 and guideline 1.1; Recommended
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, guideline 2.4; Principles and Guidelines on the Human
Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, guideline 5.2.
108 See Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Concluding observations
on the third periodic report of the Philippines. CMW/C/PHL/CO/3, 13 April 2023, para.28(c); Principles and Guidelines on
the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, guidelines 1.2, 11.7.
109 Information on file with OHCHR.
110 Situation of human rights in Myanmar: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A/
HRC/52/66, 9 March 2023. On rights-based returns more generally see, Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights
Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, principle 6 and its guidelines; Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human
Rights at International Borders, guideline 9.
111 Information on file with OHCHR.
112 UN Human Rights, 2022. Pathways to Migrant Protection: A Mapping of National Practice for Admission and Stay on Human
Rights and Humanitarian Grounds in Asia and the Pacific, https://bangkok.ohchr.org/pathways-to-migrant-protection/ .
113 Basic principles on the right to an effective remedy for victims of trafficking in persons, para.9(d); Recommended Principles andGuidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Principle 11 and guideline 6.7; Principles and Guidelines on the Human
Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, 6.10; see also, OHCHR, 2022, Pathways to Migrant Protection.
114 See UN Human Rights, 2020. Drug-related Offences, Criminal Justice Responses and the Use of the Death Penalty in South-East
Asia at https://bangkok.ohchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Drug-Related-Offences-2018.pdf
115 Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Revised Deliberation No. 5 on deprivation of liberty of migrants. A/HRC/39/45, 2 July
2018, Annex, para. 10; see also, Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, guideline
8; Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, inter alia, guidelines 1.5,
13.5, and principle 8 and its guidelines
116 Ibid. para. 11; Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding
the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return, CMW/C/
GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23, 16 November 2017
117 OHCHR Southeast Asia Regional Office, 2020. UN Human Rights Office urges Asia-Pacific States to release detained migrants,
suspend forced returns amid COVID-19 crisis, 9 April, https://bangkok.ohchr.org/un-human-rights-office-urges-asia-pacific-states-torelease-detained-migrants-suspend-forced-returns-amid-covid-19-crisis/118 OHCHR, 2022. ‘We wanted workers, but human beings came’: Human rights and temporary labour migration programmes inand from Asia and the Pacific, at https://bangkok.ohchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/BOOK-UN.pdf
119 Principles and Guidelines on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, guideline 14.5. See also, forexample, ILO, 2022. Achieving fair and ethical recruitment: Improving regulation and enforcement in the ASEAN region
120 Cooperation among States Parties is one of the named purposes of the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol (Article 2(c)) andthe UNTOC can be used as a mutual legal assistance treaty (see Article 18). The newly adopted ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration
on Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by the Abuse of Technology calls on States to enhance mutual legal assistance intrafficking cases, including those in online scamming (para.12)
121 Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, guideline 11.
122 For example, in March 2022, the Thai government issued a public notice urging citizens not to accept irregular work at theLao PDR Golden Triangle zone. Further, the Ministry of Public Security of Viet Nam has warned citizens about fraudulent means
being used to recruit people to work irregularly and under duress in Cambodia. Information on the latter case provided by thePermanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organization and other
International Organizations in Geneva, dated 26 June 2023.

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123 Bangladesh, for example, does not have an embassy in Cambodia.
124 Information on file with OHCHR.
125 OHCHR, 2011. UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights,
2021. UNGPs 10+: A Roadmap for the Next Decade of Business and Human Rights, Goal 1.3; OHCHR, 2022. The practicalapplication of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the activities of technology companies. A/HRC/50/56,
21 April 2022.
126 See Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, guideline 11 generally, in particular
11.7 on procedures and protocols for the conduct of proactive joint investigations by law enforcement authorities of different
concerned States.
127 This is one example of many in the region – see one listing in Annex 1 of Johnson et al., 2020. Trafficking Victim Protection
Frameworks in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
128 Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam participate in COMMIT.
129 Information provided by the Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office, World Trade
Organization and other International Organizations in Geneva, dated 26 June 2023.
130 BIMSTEC member States are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. See information at https://
bimstec.org/
131 See information at https://www.baliprocess.net/about-the-bali-process/132 ASEAN Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, p.1, https://asean.org/wp-content/
uploads/2021/01/ASEAN-Convention-Against-Trafficking-in-Persons-Especially-Women-and-Children-Plan.pdf .
133 For AICHR’s full purposes and mandate see, ASEAN, 2009. Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission
on Human Rights, Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat, at https://aichr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TOR-of-AICHR.pdf
134 ASEAN, 2022. Joint Communiqué of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, 3 August, https://asean.org/wp-content/
uploads/2022/08/Joint_Communique-of-the-55th-AMM-FINAL.pdf
135 ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by the Abuse of Technology, adopted 19 May
2023, at https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/06-ASEAN-Leaders-Declaration-on-Combating-TIP-Caused-by-the-Abuse-ofTechnology_adopted.pdf
136 Information provided by the Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations Office, World Trade
Organization and other International Organizations in Geneva, dated 26 June 2023
137 ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by the Abuse of Technology, adopted 19 May 2023.

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